DEVELOP A PLAN

"It's your future and you can be anything you want to be! If you are unsure of your major take the Ed Psych 101 class to figure it out. If you are unsure of your career path, stop by the Career Development Center to explore your options. --Ciera Lewis, Junior.

"There are a wide variety of research projects on campus for students to get involved with. You’re bound to find at least one that captures your interest. What I like most about undergraduate research is that it not only sets you apart from all the other students, but it also gives you the chance to apply what you learn in class and practice it in a real-world setting!"-Rea Mae Azcueta, Junior.

Research Majors and Career

Researching majors and careers is extremely helpful in learning about your options and what fits best with your interests, values, and skills. If you have chosen a major and/or career, researching the world of work will help you confirm your choices and give you more insight into what you can do with your major and understand more deeply the career path you have picked and how to start preparing now.

o Learn About UWM majors, minors & certificate programs. The Career Development Center website provides an easy to read document listing all UWM undergraduate majors, minors, and certificate programs. This is a great resource for learning about your options here at UWM. To further research majors and certificates, visit the department websites.

o What Can You Do With a Major In…? Be smart and learn about the many career paths you can pursue with the major you have chosen or are considering. The What Can You Do with a Major In links on the Career Development Center website also include information on the types of environments you can work in with various majors and the skills that are developed by studying a major.

o Read career descriptions, watch career videos, and research salaries. Use the career research links on the Career Development Center website to learn more about careers, including work activities, skills/knowledge needed, required training/education, earnings, outlook, and related career titles. Salary Wizard and Career One Stop are great resources for researching the salaries of careers by city and state.

o Join a student organization that is related to an academic major or career. These organizations may hold events such as company tours, professionals speaking about the career field, careers fairs, and career related projects. Identify and connect with student organizations through the Center for Student Involvement

o Take Planning Your Major and Career course (Ed Psy 101, two credits). This course helps students identify careers and majors that match their interests, values, and skills. Students learn valuable ways to research careers, make effective career decisions, locate internships and volunteer opportunities, and write a resume. 12 sections are offered in the fall and spring semesters. Check PAWS [https://paws.uwm.edu] for dates and times.

o Talk to people about their careers. Talking to people who are in the type of work in which you have an interest in (a.k.a informational interviewing) an excellent way to gather first-hand information about careers. Identify people by asking for leads from professors, family, friends, and using UWM Panther Career Connections Groups on LinkedIn Panther Career Connections is a forum where students can gain career-related knowledge, referrals, and advice across industries and geographic locations. The Career Development Center has an informational interviewing handout[http://www4.uwm.edu/cdc/explore/informational_interview.cfm] that provides specific steps to conducting informational interviews and suggested questions you can ask.

o Attend career days. There are a variety of general and career specific career days/fairs offered at UWM. Career days are not just for students looking for jobs, they are a great place to talk to employers about the duties of various careers, skills they are most looking for, internships they offer, etc. On the Career Development Center website you can learn about the general career days as well as get information on what to expect and questions you can ask employers. To identify career specific career days, contact individual UWM departments.